AP Photo/Nick Ut
In this Aug. 6, 2013, file photo, Nathan Louis Campbell, 38, a transient from Colorado, enters Los Angeles Superior Court. Los Angeles County prosecutors say Nathan Campbell was angry about a drug deal gone bad and targeted vendors and tourists on the popular walkway. The 39-year-old Campbell was convicted Friday, June 5, 2015, in the August 2013 death of Alice Gruppioni.
Friday, June 5, 2015 | 5:20 p.m.
In this Aug. 5, 2013, photo, a card showing the photo of Italian newlyweds Alice Gruppioni, left, and her husband, Christian Casadei, is placed on a makeshift memorial for Gruppioni along Ocean Front Walk at Venice Beach in Los Angeles.
LOS ANGELES — A driver was convicted Friday of second-degree murder in the death of an Italian honeymooner on the Venice Beach boardwalk in California.
Los Angeles County prosecutors said Nathan Campbell was angry about a soured drug deal and deliberately targeted vendors and tourists on the popular walkway.
The 39-year-old Campbell was found guilty in the August 2013 death of Alice Gruppioni.
Verdicts were being read on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and leaving the scene of the accident where 17 other people were injured.
At trial, prosecutors showed video of panicked pedestrians running from the sedan that hit speeds of 35 mph.
Campbell's attorney acknowledged that he killed Gruppioni and hit people but said he had tried to avoid them and wasn't guilty of murder.
Campbell, a transient from Colorado with a history of petty crimes, surrendered in neighboring Santa Monica two hours later.
Gruppioni, 32, was honeymooning with her husband from Bologna, Italy, when she was struck. She was carried 300 feet on the hood of the car and then rolled off, hitting the pavement. She died from head injuries.
Her widower, Christian Casadei, fought back tears during the trial as he described trying to pull her into a doorway as the car bore down on them. Casadei said she died as he held her hand.
In opening statements, Deputy District Attorney Victor Avila told jurors that Campbell was bent on revenge after a drug dealer took $35 and never returned with methamphetamine for himself and a friend.
"Point them out, I'll run them over," Campbell told a homeless man before heading to his car, Avila said.
Campbell was legally drunk when he surrendered. He told police he drank vodka after the incident. He had been fired two months earlier from managing a sobriety residence after abusing alcohol and drugs.
Defense lawyer James Cooper III told jurors that his client swerved to avoid people, hitting tents, an ATM, a row of bikes and a mannequin.
"Yes, my client did cause this tragic, nonsensical event," Cooper said in his closing argument. "Mr. Campbell is a killer. However, unintentional killings are not murder."
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy